ORIGINS Synonyms: 74 Similar and Opposite Words

origins

noun

plural of origin

as in sources

a point or place at which something is invented or provided the origins of human language remain a matter of considerable debate

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in roots

the source from which something grows or develops the origin of the tradition of giving presents at Christmastime

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in lineages

the line of ancestors from whom a person is descended they could trace their origins back 15 generations

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of origins Over the past decade, ctenophores have helped answer long-standing questions about fundamental biology, from how early nervous systems evolved to the origins of the mesmerizing phenomenon of bioluminescence. — Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 16 Sep. 2026 Today, Paramount+’s prequel series Star Trek; Strange New Worlds has revived two of Majel’s roles, expanding both Chapel and Number One well beyond the social and cultural restraints of their mid-’60s origins. — Scott Huver, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026 Thirteen years ago the Simons Foundation started a big origins project, and Catling jumped onboard a few years later. — Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 15 Sep. 2026 Sisley — another French brand with skin care at its origins — launched Hair Rituel, beginning with six products in 2017. — Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 15 Sep. 2026 Lanigan-O’Keeffe believes the objects’ origins will have little impact on the final prices. — Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026 Sometimes it is mired in self-delusion, like Toni’s obsession with his Neapolitan origins, perhaps the single shred of glamor in his otherwise unenviable family background. — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026 Roberts, who has written more than sixteen hundred obituaries, retraces the origins of the form (in ancient Rome) and the emergence of the modern newspaper obituary (in the eighteenth century). — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026 But the origins of other illness clusters have yet to be identified, at least publicly. — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for origins

Noun

Club sources, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, say his influence has grown in the aftermath of those departures.

— Paul Taylor, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Production outside the Middle East ramped up Another significant adjustment during the Iran war was the ramp-up in oil production from unexpected sources.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of sources

Noun

Legion targets contested airspace The system’s roots stretch back to Lockheed Martin’s earlier IRST work.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2026
The oldest company on the list, brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, traces its roots back 660 years to the Den Hoorn brewery in Leuven, Belgium.

— Sam Birchall, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of roots

Noun

When a massive asteroid impact triggered a global extinction 66 million years ago, almost all dinosaurs and early bird lineages died out.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2026
In the healing traditions of northern Peru, curanderos, or traditional healers, usually train through years of apprenticeship, often within family lineages.

— Pardis Mahdavi, The Conversation, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of lineages

Noun

Soft, dynamic cushioning cradles your feet with every step while providing maximum support, providing transition assistance between launch and landing.

— Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 29 Aug. 2026
Egypt, one of the word’s cradles of civilization, is also a vibrant, modern country.

— Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026

Definition of cradles

Noun

The museum will also look back at NBC milestones ranging from the network’s beginnings in radio to color television and the development of the modern late-night talk show.

— Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026
Many other companies have similar, unlikely stories of their beginnings.

— Aidan Stretch, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of beginnings

Noun

But Shanes questioned whether grouping Jews under a single ethnic category would produce sufficiently specific data for those purposes, or instead obscure differences among Jewish populations with distinct ancestries.

— Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 28 Aug. 2026
This technique overcomes limitations of older methods like genotyping arrays, which were often biased towards European ancestries and less accurate.

— William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of ancestries

Noun

Global flavors with local pedigrees provide the secret sauce for Seattle’s culinary scene.

— Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 29 Aug. 2026
The cast has become a kind of living monument to New York theater, with Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Donna Murphy, Kelli O’Hara, Audra McDonald, and many others bringing Broadway pedigrees to the series.

— Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of pedigrees

Noun

Sometimes, though, these genealogies of behavior can seem beside the point, serving only to dull one’s analysis of the situation.

— Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2026
The scientists’ method reconstructs genealogies, or maps showing where different pieces of DNA came from and how they were passed down, revealing branches of our evolutionary past.

— Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of genealogies

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originators

origins

orison

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Style

“Origins.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/origins. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of origins

noun

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